Israeli and Greek officials signed a landmark $3.5 billion defense agreement to establish a multi-layered air defense network, further strengthening their strategic partnership amid rising tensions with Turkey. Photo: Screenshot

Israel and Greece signed a landmark $3.5 billion defense export agreement on Monday to build a multi-layered air defense network, further deepening their strategic partnership in a move that could help reshape the balance of power in the region as tensions with Turkey continue to rise.

The announcement came days after Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler linked Turkey’s preparations for a potential war to growing concerns over Greece’s expanding military ties with Israel.

As part of Greece’s broader defense modernization efforts, the agreement will combine several Israeli-made systems, including David’s Sling missile interceptors, Rafael’s Spyder mobile air defense systems, Israel Aerospace Industries’ BARAK MX air and missile defense system, ELTA Systems’ advanced radars, and a new Rafael-built command-and-control system.

Israeli and Greek officials also signed a separate $30 million agreement for Rafael’s Drone Dome systems, adding another layer of Israeli technology to Greece’s expanding air defense capabilities.

Expected to be completed within 35 months, the agreement marks the largest defense export deal in Israeli-Greek relations to date and one of the largest defense agreements in Israel’s history.

An approximately €3 billion deal: Israel and Greece have signed the massive “Achilles Shield” agreement, under which Israel will build Greece a multi-layered air defense array based on Israeli systems architecture.

Read More: https://t.co/xXTK35zycj pic.twitter.com/QCmZuJcBeJ

— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) August 31, 2026

All of these new acquisitions are part of the Greek government’s broader $32 billion “Achilles Shield” military modernization program through 2036, which will also include up to 40 US-made F-35 fighter jets, new frigates, drones, and other advanced weapons systems.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the latest agreement as a major step in the two countries’ growing strategic partnership, saying that Israel and Greece “share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges.”

“At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region, Israel and Greece will continue to deepen their defense and strategic cooperation, and will act with determination to preserve stability and safeguard their security and shared interests,” Katz said in a statement. 

Experts have argued that Greece’s new air defense network and expanded military capabilities could significantly shift the balance of power in the Aegean Sea, where Athens and neighboring Turkey have long been locked in disputes over maritime boundaries and competing territorial claims.

Ankara has reacted negatively to the growing military partnership between Greece and Israel, warning that their expanding defense cooperation — including joint military exercises, training, defense technology, and industrial partnerships — could pose a threat to Turkey’s national security and regional interests.

According to Turkish officials, Ankara closely monitors Greek activities in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean that they claim violate the country’s “rights, interests, and concerns” as well as international law, warning that it will swiftly take whatever measures it considers necessary in response.

Earlier this month, Güler sent a letter to the country’s parliament in which he said that preparations for “possible crisis, tension, and war” in the surrounding region are continuing in close coordination among all relevant state institutions, placing the effort in the context of the burgeoning Israeli-Greek military relationship.

Ankara has repeatedly accused Greece of violating agreements governing the demilitarization of Aegean islands. Athens, however, has dismissed the allegations as unfounded, arguing that its military buildup is driven by legitimate self-defense needs and growing regional instability, as well as what Greek officials view as persistent threats from Turkey.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis has even warned Turkey that the era of what he called Greece’s “passive diplomatic stagnation” is over, saying Athens is “fully prepared for any scenario” while continuing to pursue peace.

“Any attempt to violate our sovereign rights will be met with every means at our disposal,” Gerapetritis said in a statement. “We will do whatever is necessary. We will respond to provocations, and we will respond from a position of strength.”

In one of the latest signs of mounting tensions in the region, two Greek Air Force F-16s were scrambled last Friday to intercept a Turkish drone operating near the Aegean islands of Samothraki and Lemnos, highlighting the continued military friction between the neighboring countries.

For Turkey, the growing Greek-Israeli military partnership is transforming the Aegean dispute into part of a much broader regional security realignment, as Israeli weapons, technology, and strategic cooperation become increasingly embedded in Greece’s military posture while the Turkish-Israeli rivalry intensifies from the eastern Mediterranean to Syria.

In recent months, Israeli intelligence assessments have reportedly identified increased Turkish naval activity, including expanded military exercises and a growing presence in the Mediterranean and areas where the Israeli Navy operates, leading Israeli officials to see the developments as a possible strategic shift and to increase their operational readiness for a potential confrontation with Turkey.

According to a report by the Israeli outlet Kan News, Turkish warships approached Israeli naval vessels in the Mediterranean last weekend and forced them to alter their routes in one of the latest incidents highlighting the growing tensions, signaling Ankara’s determination to assert its military presence and strategic interests in the region.

In June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Israel and its “accomplices” were seeking to start “a fire” in the Mediterranean, particularly around Cyprus, where Turkey serves as a guarantor power and recognizes the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“They are chasing dreams in the Eastern Mediterranean. Let me be clear: Do not engage in military adventurism, do not ride on the tails of the Zionist network of murderers. Our response to the attempts at the rights and sovereignty of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean will be clear and very strong,” Erdogan said in a statement at the time.

More recently, Erdogan targeted the Jewish state again, accusing Israel of pursuing a “genocidal” ideology and drawing comparisons between the country’s defensive military campaign against Hamas in Gaza and Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews.

“The radical, occupying, genocidal ideology known as Zionism is not only aimed at the peace of its neighbors. It is also aimed at anyone who defends regional peace and humanitarian values,” the Turkish leader said in a statement on Saturday. 

“Millions of people from various origins and faiths were subjected to genocide in Hitler’s concentration camps. Humanity, unfortunately, just stood idly by and watched what unfolded,” Erdogan said. “The same mistake is being repeated today in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. The world is failing to adequately react to the genocidal network’s lawless policies that recognize no principles, values and limits.”

“I believe that it must now be understood that we as Muslims cannot achieve anything by pinning our hopes on others,” he further added. “We have to be strong and deterrent, defending our rights together and building peace and security in our region together.”

Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday said during a summit in Istanbul that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had become “an enemy of security and humanity,” accusing him of genocide.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Erdogan of reaching “new heights of wild incitement against the Jewish state in an effort to divert attention from his actions against his own people and across the region.”

“Erdogan has destroyed Turkish democracy, imprisoned his political opponents, hosts and supports the terrorist organization Hamas, and invades neighboring countries,” the statement read. “Like the worst antisemites in history, Erdogan seeks to deflect attention from his own disgraceful actions by spreading false blood libels.”

The antisemitic Erdoğan seeks, every few days, to reach new heights of wild incitement against the Jewish state in an attempt to divert attention from his actions against his own people and across the region.

Erdoğan has destroyed Turkish democracy, imprisoned his political… https://t.co/hW3QmKCbUh

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) August 29, 2026